Explaining complex things in simple words: Destruction of enemy ship, Contact Group results, marking end of war in Afghanistan

The Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security pursues efforts to provide a brief explanation to foreign audiences on the current topics of particular interest as regards Ukraine.        

DESTRUCTION OF AN ENEMY SHIP

On February 14, the Ukrainian Defence Forces destroyed Caesar Kunikov, a large landing ship (LLS) of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.

▪ Caesar Kunikov was destroyed in the territorial waters of Ukraine near the temporarily occupied Crimea while transporting military cargo from Novorossiysk to Sevastopol.

▪ This is another significant achievement of the unmanned fleet of Ukraine. The large landing ship was sunk by five Magura V5 sea drones. The defence forces keep on destroying enemy ships.

▪ Ukraine has already destroyed three out of seven ships of the Black Sea Fleet (Saratov, Novocherkassk, Caesar Kunikov), as well as one ship of the Baltic Fleet (Minsk), and disabled the Olenegorsky Gornyak ship of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation. Currently, the enemy has 8 large landing ships on combat duty in the Black Sea.

▪ Russian landing ships in the Black Sea were originally intended to conduct amphibious operations on the coast of Odesa and Mykolaiv oblasts. Currently, they are actively used to ensure the logistics between the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

▪ Soviet paratrooper Tsezar Kunikov died on February 14, 1943, defending his own country. The Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov sank on February 14, 2024, as a participant in the aggression against another country. 

UKRAINE DEFENSE CONTACT GROUP RESULTS

On February 14, the 19th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group was held via videoconference.

▪ The Coalition for Integrated Air and Missile Defence began operating, uniting 15 countries and led by Germany, France, and the United States.

▪ Work is underway on the joint production of artillery systems and shells.

▪ The F16 arrangements are proceeding according to a previously agreed schedule.

▪ Interaction with partners on UAV issues is being enhanced, and the work of the Coalition of Drones has been launched; it consists of 8 countries (Sweden, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, the Netherlands, Latvia).

▪ The demining coalition, led by Lithuania, has already brought together 20 countries. 

 MARKING THE END OF THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

35 years ago, on February 15, 1989, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed.

▪ The war in Afghanistan was a senseless decision of the Soviet leadership. It lasted almost 10 years, led to huge casualties, and ended in defeat and accelerated the collapse of the USSR.

▪ Of the 620,000 Soviet troops who fought in Afghanistan, at least 150,000 were Ukrainians. 2,572 Ukrainians died for foreign imperial interests.

▪ Today, many Afghan veterans stand in defense of Ukraine and honorably repel Russian aggression.

▪ Ukraine's independence is the only guarantee that Ukrainians will no longer die in foreign wars of conquest in distant lands.

▪ Putin's war in Ukraine is even more shameful and pointless than the Soviet one in Afghanistan. In the two years of the full-scale war with Ukraine, Russia lost 20 times more soldiers than the USSR did in 10 years in Afghanistan. 

Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security